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A stale serving of 'Pie's
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 17, 2002
American Pie 2 (R)
[Photo: Universal Studio]
Eugene Levy, left, and Jason Biggs star as father and son in American Pie 2.
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The idiots who lost their virginity in American Pie return, this time at college where they apparently haven't learned anything new about sex or good filmmaking. The sequel has everyone performing some variation on what they did in the original: Jim (Jason Biggs) gets his genitals stuck in another jam, Stifler (Seann William Scott) is still horny and doused with unpleasant fluids for his troubles, and Jim's father (Eugene Levy) still doesn't know his birds from his bees.
First impressions: "Love is smuttier the second time around in American Pie 2, (plodding) through a series of sexual embarrassments that simply aren't as endearing this time. . . . Director James B. Rogers doesn't care how these raunchy episodes, crudely written by Adam Herz, fit together. The rhythm of American Pie 2 is all wrong, with dead spots anticipating laugh breaks while sabotaging the pace to earn them. Scenes end with a dirty joke, then another begins with the same characters discussing a new development to get them to the next dirty joke."
Second thoughts: Once again, sex ruins a good relationship, this time with the audience.
Rental audience: People who snicker at the word "penis."
Rent it if you enjoy: Porky's II: The Next Day.
The Anniversary Party (R)
[Photo: Fine Line Features]
From left, Jennifer Beale, Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Anniversary Party, a film set at a posh Hollywood party.
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Actors Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh wrote, directed and led a sterling ensemble cast in this slice of Hollywood gossip. The setting is a posh party attended by celebrities and wannabes, fueled by the drug ecstasy and hounded by their social shortcomings. The cast includes Kevin Kline, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jane Adams and John C. Reilly.
First impressions: "The Anniversary Party is a minor triumph for Cumming and Leigh, as actors and especially in their first effort as co-writers and co-directors. Inspired by today's digital ease, they cobbled an idea, invited friends for a 19-day shoot and created a New Age Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? . . . Kline's presence is a cagey link to The Ice Storm and The Big Chill, two films The Anniversary Party resembles in structure and tone. . . . This isn't a pleasant story, and nobody earns any sympathy, but moral decay on-screen is seldom so stylish."
Second thoughts: One of the few films of 2001 worth seeking out if you missed it.
Rental audience: Art-film aficionados.
Rent it if you enjoy: Eavesdropping on chic losers.
Bubble Boy (PG-13)
Unusually cruel comedy about a young man named Jimmy (Jake Gyllenhaal, October Sky), born without an immune system and living in a hermetically sealed environment with his Bible-thumping mother (Swoosie Kurtz). He falls in love with the girl next door (Marley Shelton), who moves away, moving Jimmy to escape his protective surroundings and find her. The film was rightfully protested for its tone by parents of children with similar ailments.
First impressions: "Bubble Boy is the most pointless, relentlessly grotesque insult to comedy since Freddy Got Fingered. Why this movie exists is a mystery, but the reasons it offended people (are) abundantly, abysmally clear. Three screenwriters concocted this racist, insensitive stew, making one wonder just how untalented they are while working alone."
Second thoughts: Moviegoers showed good taste by shunning this mess at the box office. Do the same at the video store.
Rental audience: Nobody I would want to spend time with.
Rent it if you enjoy: Driving slowly past grisly car wrecks.
Rewind: Videos worth another look
Happy birthday, Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey turns 40 today, but you have to wonder if his fans will ever let him grow up. Judging from box office results, audiences would rather buy tickets to see Carrey going crazy on screen than acting serious, as in The Truman Show, Man in the Moon and, most recently, The Majestic. Each was a flop compared to his more manic roles.
But put Carrey in Grinch makeup or -- better yet -- allow his malleable face to do all of the work, and moviegoers can't get enough of this Canadian-born comic, who recently announced an intention to apply for U.S. citizenship.
Celebrate Carrey's birthday with any of these home video selections. He can blow out the candles, and fans can get their wish:
The Dead Pool -- Small role, big impression. Carrey played a drugged-out rock star named Johnny Squares who's part of a macabre death-threat bet. Dirty Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) was a flinty foil for Carrey's odd, energetic performance.
Earth Girls Are Easy -- Carrey joins Jeff Goldblum and Damon Wayans as furry aliens who crash-land in a swimming pool near a Valley Girl (Geena Davis). Goofy fun that has developed a minor cult following.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective -- Carrey became a sensation as Ace, a gumshoe dealing with animal cases including the kidnapping of the Miami Dolphins' mascot. Skip the lame sequel, When Nature Calls.
The Mask -- More rubber-limbed mayhem with Carrey doing the Jekyll-and-Hyde routine as a meek guy and a mambo king. Looks like the comic book that inspired it, with a scene-stealing debut by Cameron Diaz.
Dumb & Dumber and Me, Myself & Irene -- Peter and Bobby Farrelly are filmmakers on the same wacky wavelength as Carrey, as these comedies attest. In the former, Carrey joins Jeff Daniels for cross-country clumsiness. Carrey's dual-personality performance was a gem in the latter.
Batman Forever -- Move over, Frank Gorshin. Carrey turned the familiar cackles of the Riddler into a memorable archenemy for the Caped Crusader (Val Kilmer).
The Cable Guy -- The first solid indication that Carrey wants to be known for something besides slapstick. He played a cable installer obsessed with making a customer (Ben Stiller) his best friend. Audiences were caught off-guard by the anger in Carrey's humor.
Liar, Liar -- Carrey won back fans with a superb performance as a businessman cursed to tell the truth regardless of the consequences. Marvel at Carrey's body control as he moves in any direction except where his mind is pointing.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas -- Ron Howard's overblown hijacking of Dr. Seuss' beloved fantasy features a makeup job that nearly obscures Carrey's best comic features. After this, those dramatic experiments don't look so bad.
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